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Government to expand Parramatta office footprint

7 September 2018

The NSW Government has announced plans to secure up to 45,000m2 of new A-grade leased office space in Parramatta from 2022.

Property NSW has called for Expressions of Interest for new office space in a single building, to accommodate more than 4,000 workers, under an initial 10-year lease term with a further two five-year options.

CEO of Property NSW, Brett Newman, said a successful lease search could see the Government’s office footprint in Parramatta match the Sydney CBD by 2022.

“The Government is on track to occupy around 250,000m2 of office space in Parramatta by 2022, representing more than 30 per cent of Parramatta’s office market,” Mr Newman said.

“The Government’s current Sydney CBD footprint is about 285,000m2 and that is likely to further decrease by 2022 as more agencies relocate to other metropolitan and regional areas as part of the Decade of Decentralisation policy.”

The Government’s commercial office commitments in Parramatta include 25,000m2 of leased office space at 105 Phillip Street, Parramatta, occupied by the Department of Education, and 65,000m2 of office space at 4 Parramatta Square, to be occupied by the departments of Planning & Environment, Industry, and Finance, Services and Innovation, commencing in late 2019.

The Government’s current office footprint in Parramatta is circa 147,000m2.

“By sending more roles to Western Sydney, the Government is bringing jobs closer to people’s homes and reducing congestion on roads and public transport,” Mr Newman said.

“It also reduces the Government’s exposure to rising Sydney CBD office rents, with recent Property Council of Australia data showing Parramatta office rents are as much as half of those in the Sydney CBD.”

Mr Newman said Western Sydney was surging ahead thanks to the Government’s substantial investment in infrastructure, including the Parramatta Light Rail, proposed West Metro, the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, and the Western Sydney Stadium, alongside investment to support the Western Sydney Airport.

“Parramatta’s growth as a cultural, economic and investment centre for Greater Sydney makes it the logical place to establish a major public service hub and is consistent with the Greater Sydney Commission’s vision for Parramatta under its Central City District Plan,” he said.

The Government is committed to relocating more than 4,200 public service roles from the Sydney CBD to Western Sydney by 2021 as part of its Decade of Decentralisation initiative, with 1,872 public sector roles already relocated since 2011.